Criminal law consists of bodies of regulations and rules that will specify and define the punishments for the wrong committed against society or the state. Criminal laws are enforced on state, federal, and local levels. Criminal laws are in place to maintain some type of standard of conduct more acceptable in society, and to safeguard society from criminals. The purpose of criminal laws is to set a no tolerance standard for criminal behavior, also meaning no crime committed will go unpunished thus an attempt to keep the community crime free and safe. When
Criminal Procedure Policy Paper CJA/ 364 Criminal Procedure May 29, 2012 Criminal Procedure Policy Paper The role the criminal justice system plays in society is expansive. Criminal justice is designed to keep the public safe, to stop wrongdoing, to punish wrongdoers, and to provide order to society. Given this broad role there will be times when criminal justice will not perform all roles well. This means, of course, that criminal justice will often fail to meet public expectations. Ultimately, the needs people have for criminal justice mean that they believe the criminal justice system should be designed to pursue goals that fulfill
Planning and Threat Assessment Paper The incident described in this paper involves providing safety measures for the protection of a White Supremacist who is outspoken, handicapped, and facing charges for homicide. This individual has to be transported to court for trial. Within this paper one will examine the assessment of threats against this individual. Therefore, a protective detail service is being required to help provide protection from the home residence to court and back to the residence. An operation plan will also be included regarding how the protective services will handle this situation.
Ways to reduce or eliminate the cause of wrongful convictions by eye-witness misidentification by put into operation the following procedures that have been shown to reduce the amount of wrongful convictions through the use of eye-witness identification. Government officials that choose to use eye-witness should begin the use of Blind administration, lineup composition, instructions, confidence statements, recording. The court system should make certain the fact that the government officials have followed the proper procedures to ensure that the eye-witness has successfully identified the suspect. When the court system allows for an innocent person to be wrongfully identified and pursued, this allows time for the actual perpetrator to remain free, and therefore, reduces the probability that justice will be served. Court system can ensure
In this essay we will assess the usefulness of these functionalist theories, and look at how it helps us explain crime. One functionalist who tried to explain crime is Merton and his strain theory, the strain theory argues that people engage in the deviant behaviour when they are unable to achieve socially approved goals by legitimate means. Merton explanation combines 2 elements; structural factors- society’s unequal opportunity structure, cultural factors- strong emphasis to achieve goals and weak emphasis on using legit means. Merton uses the strain theory to explain some patterns of crime in society, he argues a person’s positioning in society affects the way they adapt or respond to the strain to anomie. Merton gives 5 different types of adaption; Conformity- the individual accepts socially acceptable goal and achieves it through legitimate means, Innovation- Individual accepts the role of success and wealth but uses illegitimate means to achieve them, Ritualism- Individual give up on legitimate goals but still follow strictly to the rules, Retreatism- Individuals reject legitimate goals and means of achieving them e.g drug addicts, the final type is Rebellion- Individuals reject existing goals and means but replace them with new one in desire to bring about revolutionary change.
Unless the government is able to prove the existence of these elements, it can't obtain a conviction in a court of law. The due process model is a model of the criminal justice system that stresses that every criminal justice conclusion is built on scrupulous information. Due process stresses the adversarial process, the rights of defendant and the rights of the formal decision-making procedure. It is vital to realize that courts allow individuals to defend themselves based on entrapment, self-defense or insanity. These, however, must be proved appropriately to allow courts practice fairness in defenses.
Activity A: Procedure for Maintaining the Chain of Custody for Physical Evidence Sarah Gile Professor Adam Sauer Criminal Evidence and Legal Issues Unit 7 Activity When there is evidence involved at a crime scene the evidence should be handled following the proper policy and procedure. The procedure being followed will start at the crime scene and follow through the end to the destruction or disposition of the evidence. The procedure needs to accomplish a correct chain of custody so the evidence can be used at trial to convict the suspect. Maintaining a proper chain of custody can make or break a case. The chain of custody, if done properly, is proof to the court that the evidence in front of them is the same evidence that was collected at the crime scene.
These crimes consist of attempts, solicitation, and conspiracies (Schmalleger, F., 2010, p. 80). Rules of inchoate crimes are that “(1) a person should not be charged with both the inchoate and choate offense, with the exception of conspiracy which can be a separate charge; (2) lesser penalties should ideally be imposed for inchoate crimes, but in many cases, the penalty should be exactly the same as for the completed offense; (3) inchoate crimes should have specific intent, spelling out clearly what the mens rea elements are; and (4) some overt action or substantial step should be required in the direction of completing the crime.” (Incomplete (Inchoate) Crimes, 2003) The inchoate crime of attempt means that a person tried to commit a crime, but for some reason was unable to complete the crime. There are two things that must be present in order for a crime to be labeled as an attempt. (1) A criminal must have a specific intent to commit a crime. (2) To make actions, also considered a substantial step, in the direction of committing the crime (Schmalleger, F., 2010, p.
These concept explain crime at levels of the society, the individual, and the group. An individual’s potential for criminality depends on the competition between associations that treat criminal behavior positively and those who treat it negatively (Vandelay, 2010, p.1) The main points of Sutherland’s Differential Association Theory are the nine propositions which are one that criminal behavior is learned second which is similar to the first proposition is that criminal behavior is learned in interaction with other people in an attempt to communicate. The third main point or proposition is that the principal part of the learning of criminal behavior occurs within intimate personal groups. The fourth main point is that when criminal behavior is learned, the learning includes; the techniques of committing the crime which are sometimes complicated or very simple and the specific motives, drives, rationalizations, and attitudes. The fifth main point is the specific direction of motives and drive is learned from the definition of the legal codes whether it is favorable or unfavorable.
Official statistics is the name given to the numbers of crimes reported to or unveiled by the police themselves, which lead to a conviction, caution or are dealt with in some formal way by the law. Only offences which are dealt with by one of the above are actually recorded in official statistics. These offences can vary from minor incidents such as a window being broken to, an offence of a more serious nature such as rape or murder. These are social problems that are constructed by society, something that goes against the 'normal' runnings of society. The statistics can give us an understanding as to the levels of these crimes and as to why or where they are most likely to occur.